Saturday, July 25, 2015

Different Reactions To The Same Evil

As the nation grieves for the horrible evil that takes place with increasing regularity at various places around the country, most recently in Lafayette, Louisiana, it seems imperative that perspective must be kept in order to understand why this is happening. Besides the obvious evil of the I.S.I.S. inspired calls for "Lone Wolf" violence in America (to distract us from defeating the Middle-East evil of their efforts to take control of the entire region, and wiping out Israel in the process) there is a basic, fundamental reaction to the evil of the day that is different, but is inspired by the same source (Satan). It is what apparently caused the rampage Thursday, at the movie theatre in Louisiana. It is the reaction of a man who recognized the obvious, that America is drifting rapidly into a period of moral decline that will most likely cause us to be shocked at our loss of influence in the world, which has probably already begun at the hands of our present Administration, and will likely be increased by the next (whomever wins in 2016). His mistake was not in recognizing the problem, but in thinking that random violence would in any way solve the problem. He was reportedly depressed by the state of decline in America today, and he took out his frustrations on those who were close at hand, regardless of their innocence, or guilt in the matter.

This is why the Lord said to His disciples, "Judge not, lest ye be judged". I don't presume to know whether this man knew any of the Bible, or not, but if he did, he certainly did not act upon it. The evil that we see in the world today was prophecied nearly 2000 years ago, by the apostle Peter, and others when they talked about the end times becoming so evil that even some Christians would be tempted to turn away from their previously held faith (one can already hear the weak believers saying, "How can a loving God allow..."etc.). We must remember that God wants to save not only the people who want to be good, but also those who are bound up in their evil ways. If that were not so, then He would not have save one of the most evil men of his day, along the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, and the Apostle Paul would never have been available to write nearly half of the New Testament. Can you imagine how that would have effected the growth of the Christian Church over the last 2000 years??? The difference between God and us is that He knows what He can do with an evil person, once they have truly repented of their sins, and asked Jesus to forgive them, and take control of their lives from that point on, as the Apostle Paul so obviously did! We are too quick to judge an evil person as being hopelessly sinful, but God knows who still has hope, and who doesn't (especially since He is the source of all Hope).

Apparently this gunman in Louisiana had lost all hope in himself, and presumed therefore that all hope was indeed lost. Then he simply took out his frustration on anyone around him. But God is the source of all Hope, and he warned us through the prophecies of the Bible that these evil days would come upon us shortly before His return to both save His believers, and judge the rest of the world for their evil ways. Unfortunately, when one decides to take the "Law into his own hands", and kill innocent people, just because he is angry at the decadence of others, he has joined the ranks of those whom God will judge, rather than those whose hope of salvation rests in Jesus. Then, by killing himself he has indeed foiled all of us who wish to see him punished by our laws, only to rudely discover that God still exists, and that He reserves all ultimate judgment for Himself. And His judgment is both permanent, and eternal. I'm sure this guy is very sorry now for what he did, and he will be for a very long time!

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